Metastasis

metastasis /me·tas·ta·sis/ (me-tas´tah-sis) pl. metas´tases  

1. transfer of disease from one organ or part of the body to another not directly connected with it, due either to transfer of pathogenic microorganisms or to transfer of cells; all malignant tumors are capable of metastasizing.

2. a growth of pathogenic microorganisms or of abnormal cells distant from the site primarily involved by the morbid process.metastat´ic

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me·tas·ta·sis (m-tst-ss)

n. pl. me·tas·ta·ses (-sz)

1. Transmission of pathogenic microorganisms or cancerous cells from an original site to one or more sites elsewhere in the body, usually by way of the blood vessels or lymphatics.

2. A secondary cancerous growth formed by transmission of cancerous cells from a primary growth located elsewhere in the body.

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meta·static (mt-sttk) adj.

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Metastasis (plural, metastases)

The spread of disease from one part of the body to another, as when cancer cells appear in parts of the body remote from the site of the primary tumor.

Mentioned in: Bile Duct Cancer, Colon Cancer, Computed Tomography Scans, Gallbladder Cancer, Malignant Melanoma, Myxoma, Neuroendocrine Tumors, Paget's Disease of the Breast, Rectal Cancer, Superior Vena Cava Syndrome, Vulvar Cancer

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metastasis (m·tasˑ·t·sis),

n growth and movement of cancer cells from one area of the body to another.

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metastasis (mtas´tsis),

n the transfer of a disease by blood vessels, lymph vessels, or the respiratory tract (through aspiration) from one organ or region to another not directly contiguous with it. Usually used in reference to malignant tumor cells, but bacteria can also metastasize (e.g., in focal infection).

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metastasis

pl. metastases [Gr.]

1. the transfer of disease from one organ or part to another not directly connected with it. It may be due either to the transfer of pathogenic microorganisms (e.g. tubercle bacilli) or to the transfer of cells, as in malignant tumors.

2. metastases, growths of pathogenic microorganisms or of abnormal cells distant from the site primarily involved by the morbid process.

See also cancer.